like grade 5 girls at recess. What else is new. I do have a spare on another wheel where the rim is almost worn through but is there perhaps a better alternative available? The wheels are the last generation of the tubeless clincher that was scandium with no carbon. Don't know if an XTR would fit or some other aftermarket one (which I doubt exists) but if there is, I would be willing to try it. Anyone? Beuler? Beuler?

Looking for a replacement cassette body? It's probably sticky pawls/pawl springs. Take the body off, clean out whatever gunk is in there, and clean out the ratchet ring really well too. Be careful not to send the springs flying into oblivion. Q-tips work well for cleaning. Re-lube with some Phil Wood or other grease of your choice, put cassette body back on, and away you go.

If it's not a pawl issue, then it's probably the ratchet ring and that means your hub is hosed.

Freehub body dkri. I thought that XTR and Dura Ace were interchangeable and that XTR had three pawls and quicker engagement that DA. I do have that rare tool for disassembling the mechanism but my recollection is that the dust cap gets mangled easily when you remove it to access the outer freehub cone. And that job is a pain and usually only got me a short bit more lifespan because the pawls were worn and/or chipped anyway. I used to have a container of Shimano freehub guts and I would double the springs but that got tossed when I moved last year. DA freehubs have always been problematic for me and XTR less so especially the newest ones. What I want is something better than DA.

My grade 5 girl does not skip, by all accounts from gossip reaching me, she and her friend do chinups and (one armed) pushups during recess. Crazy if you ask me...but so is bike hardware getting as hard to deal with as the engine on a japanese car.

what dkri said, take it off, clean it up with some T-9, and lube it with some Phil Wood oil, don't get heavy with the grease, sounds like the Pauwels are gummed up, and not engaging properly Cassette bodies are cheap if it needs to be replaced

So I dismantled the freehub and was surprised to see four pawls inside. One spring for two pawls and another for the other two. about 60 tiny bbs about the size of GI Joe testicles if he had any. The seal at the inner hub side is not removable and it was challenging to get the outer body onto the inner with the bearings stuck in place with grease. Sticking the balls to the inner race didn't work because the seal would not go over them. Stuck to the outer body eventually worked after several tries. The balls kept getting hung up on something, but I got it on. The outer bearing set up was a trick too but eventually it all came together. No chips to the working edge of the pawls and the gears looked OK too although there was definitely visible wear. Whatever was in there for lubrication from the factory was totally the colour of pencil lead. On the other hand the grease on the axle bearing was still that translucent bright green indicating that the seals are most excellent indeed. I used grease on the freehub hub shell interface to seal that opening better. The ride this AM had no skipping events. A whole 4 km so we'll perhaps test it better tonight on trails.

Note. The inner seal does not come off so it would be challenging to flush the body like we used to be able to do by peeling that seal out and dumping solvent through until it came out clean. I assume the seal is permanently attached to a metal core or something which is press fit after assembly. I was unable to get a razor knife, plastic tire lever or screwdriver to move it. Used to be a simple rubber umbrella seal that a poky tool could easily remove without damage. I damaged mine a tiny bit.

Shop located a single replacement Dura Ace titanium freehub available. I will get a discount cause I'm a known guy but that means just under $400. Not a typo. Supposed to retail at $400. At least they don't notch like aluminum ones and they are easily replaced. Geez. Gotta decide to do it or not. I put a spare used one on last weekend from an identical 7850 tubeless clincher where the rim is nearly worn through. It skipped once this week so it is better.

DA spare parts are crazy expensive. A new scandium rim wholesales for $400. Wholesale. I can buy a new wheelset for only a little more than two rims. I think individual spokes were $15 each too.